Automobile door construction



4, 1953 E. L. BLACKMAN 2,647,790

AUTOMOBILE DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed April 9, 1952 INVENTOR. Edward L. Blackman l ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 4, 1953 Edward L. Blackman,New Yr k, N.Y., 1 t v ApplicationApril 9; 1952, SerialNo. 281L384".

My invention relates to an improvement: in

automobile door construction and is an improvement on my Patent Number 2,535,347 issued December 26, 1950, and my application Serial ber 257,867, filed November 23, 1951'.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a simplified mechanism'wher'e'bya partial section of the roof of a vehiclemay be carried by the door and is so arranged that this section is automatically swung out of the way when the door is opened and swungaut'omatioally back into position whenthe door is closed, thus pro-' viding additional headroom for passengers enter-' ing and leaving the vehicle.

Another object of my invention is to simplify the connections between the swingable top section and the operating mechanism so that positive opening and closure of the movable top section is effected with a minimum of parts.

Otherfob'je'cts' and advantages will be apparent from the specification and drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective of the door and swingable top piece showing the opening and closing mechanism with the door in open position;

Fig. 2 is a cutaway section of the top operating mechanism with the door in closed position;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective of the top section operating mechanism with the door in closed position;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective of the top section operating mechanism with the door in partially open position.

Referring to the drawings, I is the vehicle door supported on the frame 2 by means of the usual hinge 3. The door I has attached to it a cutaway portion :3 of the vehicle top 5 arranged as described in my aforementioned patent, and patent application so that the vehicle top 5 and cutaway portion 4 fit snugly together when the door I is closed.

The cutaway portion 4 is swingably supported on the door I by means of a hinge 6 of the type commonly referred to as a piano hinge wherein alternate strips of the door I and top section 4 are turned over and held in position by an axial rod I so that the hinged section 6 rotates freely on the rod 1 when the top section is raised or lowered.

Within a recess 3 in the door frame 2 a cable 9 is attached in any suitable manner such as by an eye bolt affixed to the door frame. The cable 9 is attached at the end away from the door frame to a sliding plate It by means of a holding bolt II which clamps the cable to projections I2 on the plate ID a shown in Figs. 3 and 4. It will Num- 3 Claims. i (01. 2964421) be understood that a is: preferred'lbecause' of its flexibility The pl'ate- Iflis constructed in theshape of a double T beam sjoinedqat-thegmiddleso that there .1 is a top plate! middle joinder wjeb; i 3 and-bottom;

plate I4 arranged so that ftheqweb l3 fits -,withslighttolerance'intoaslot I5. inthe top of'the:

door I whilethespacingofthe plates-I0 and It isslightly reater than-the. thickness. of the metal forming; the top of the door; I so=that-thep1ate II] may slide in. the slot I5 whilenbeing atthe same time ,held from vertical. movement and in alignment with the slot.

, Qn the plate [0- a cam arm lfi ismountedby. means. of a;swivel ;p in [-1.- Thecam arm is flat-q, tened at |6a but rounded the rest ofits length and isintthe formof a. flazy sfghaving, anyenlarged crosssection at-IB and I9. said enlarged. sections being approximately .but not quite ;-as

large as the size of the orifice ofaring bolt .29 attached to the top piece 4 by a spot weld of the plate 2| which is an enlarged part of the ring bolt. The plate 2| may be affixed to the top section 4 by any suitable means but for the purpose I prefer spot welding for a rigid yet relatively cheap construction.

The top piece 4 is hollow in its interior, as is common construction in the automatic field, so that I cut a slot 22 in the base of the top piece to accommodate the raised lazy S cam I6 and plate II] when the top piece 4 and door I are in closed position.

Abutting against the double T beam at one end and the edge of the door I is a coil spring 23 which surrounds the cable 9 thus having a tendency to force the plate I2 and cam I6 rearwardly when the door is in open position and providing a means of sliding the plate I2 along the slot I5 when the door is closed.

In operation, when the door I is opened by a passenger, the cable 9 holds the plate I2 while the door swings outward and away from the frame 2. This causes the plate I2 to slide in the slot I 5, and since the plate I2 carries the cam I6, the cam rider or ring bolt 20 is caused to slide up the 8 surface of the cam and raise the top piece upwards to the position shown in Fig. 1. Since there is a certain amount of displacement from the horizontal, of the top piece when it is raised, the cam I6 is allowed to swivel slightly by means of the swivel pin I! so that the cam surface is automatically always in contact within the confines of ring bolt 20.

When the top piece i in either open or closed solid rod might be sub stituted in place of the cable 9 although a cable 3 position, all rattle or play is prevented due to the enlargements l8 and [9 being in close tolerance with the cross section of the lazy S cam surfaces at each end.

On closure of the door, the ring bolt 29 is forced down the slope of the surface of the lazy S cam [6 by the action of the spring 23 forcing the plate along the slot l5 so that a positive closure of the top section 4 is effected.

I claim:

1. In adevice of the" character described, in combination with a door, a frame for said door,

a hinge on which said door is mounted in said frame, a fixed top having a recess abovethe door, a top section of the door corresponding to said arranged to open and close said recess and to swing up and down when the door is openedand closed respectively, a slidable plate mounted on said door carrying a pivotally mounted a contact arm operatively-conneeted with the surface of said cam at one end and rigidly attached to said top section of the door at its other end, means attached to said frame for preventing displacement of said slidable plate "when said. door is opened whereby -said contact arm raises said top section when the door is opened and lowers said top section when the door is closed.

2. In a device of thecharaeter described, in combination with a door, a frame for said door, a hinge on which said door 'is' mounted in said frame, a fixed top having a recess' above the door, a top section of the door corresponding to said recess and hingedly mounted on the top of the door near one edge thereof and constructed and arranged to open and close said recess and to swing up-and down when thedoor-is opened and closed respectively, a slidableplatemounted on said door carrying a' pivotally mounted cam, a contact arm operatively connected with the sur- 4. face of said cam at one end and rigidly attached to said top section of the door at its other end, means attached to said frame for preventing dislacement of said slidable plate when said door is opened whereby said contact arm is forced to ride up, the surface of said cam when the door is opened causing said top section to raise, and a spring member which forces said contact arm to ride down said cam when said door is opened causingsa lowering-of saidisection.

3. line device 'of thecharacter described, in combination with a door, a frame for said door,

a-hinge on which said door is mounted in said recess 'and hiri'gedly mounted on the top of the door nearoneedge thereof and constructed and arranged to open and close said recess and to swing up and down when the door is opened and closed respectively, a slidable plate mounted on said door carrying-a pivotally meuntediearm, a contact. armoperativeiy connected with the su-rfaceof said cam at one endandirigidlyiattached to said top sectioned the doo r at itsothersend, a cable attachedrat one. end of .said-slidable plate andiat the o-thenend of said deer-frame for preventing displacementof said slidalcle plate when. said door is opened'whereby-saidcontact arm, is forced to ride the surface of said camv when the door is opened causing said top toraise; :and a sprin member which forces said contact arm to ride down said cam whensaid tdoor closed causing the lowering of. said top section.v

EDWARD -L.. BLACKMAN.

References Cited in. the file of. this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,499,749 Hill'iardet a1 '7," 1950 2,535,347 Blackrnan Dec. 26, 1950 

